County honors Berry with new street name

A hilltop street connecting Wilson Avenue and State Road 7 north of Clifty Drive will soon bear the name of a longtime county commissioner.

Jefferson County commissioners Tom Pietrykowski and Mark Cash voted Tuesday to name the street JA Berry Lane, in honor of Commissioner Julie Berry.

Berry, a Democrat and 12-year commissioner, is the first female commissioner in Jefferson County. She did not seek re-election this year. Republican Bob Little will take over her middle-district seat Jan. 1.

The resolution cites several recognitions Berry has received, including from the Indiana Association of Counties and Indiana Association of County Commissioners.

The new road is part of the Hutchinson Lane construction project. It will extend southwest from Shun Pike, also known as Wilson Avenue, to State Road 7.

"This is for the 12 years of service to the county," Cash said. "You've been a great commissioner."

Berry said the honor was "totally unexpected."

"I thought you had to be 100 years old for this to happen," she said.

Also at the meeting, the commissioners tabled a mutual-aid agreement with state emergency management directors.

Dave Bell, county emergency management director, said the issue is that the agreement does not include reimbursement for volunteer firefighters. The way the contract reads, Bell said, volunteers responding to emergencies in other counties would not receive a payment.

"If we have a problem, every county regionally should have a problem with it, too," Berry said.

Berry asked Bell to get together with emergency management directors to find the possible hole in the agreement. Bell said he thought the agreement would grant volunteers $18 an hour, but no such language existed in the current contract.

"Other things that we've had issues with, I believe they were taken care of, but that was the one I'm looking for, and I can't find it," Bell said.

In other business:

 The commissioners will seek bids to repair the HVAC system at the health department. Health Administrator Tammy Monroe said the current system has had trouble regulating the temperature.

Monroe showed the commissioners plans created by Crawley Heating and Terry's Heating & Cooling. The different plans were requested so the commissioners can avoid a complete overhaul of the system.

 The commissioners will set up a sound system in the board room as a trial run for its next meeting Dec. 7. The commissioners were asked to pursue a sound system at an earlier meeting this year for residents who had trouble hearing the proceedings. Susan Carter, technology director, said she has had two bidders interested in the project.

 The commissioners voted to change a $5,000 loan into a grant for Eleutherian College. Earlier this year the commissioners awarded the college a $5,000 forgivable loan for maintenance projects, with the condition that the historic site document the work and present it to the board. Berry reported Tuesday that the college provided documentation of the work. The money was taken from the historic preservation fund.

 The commissioners entered into a $2,443 contract with Frontier Communications Corp. for 911 services in 2013.

 The commissioners appointed Richard Hill to the Jefferson County Parks Board.